Monthly Archives: September 2018
$54.5 Million Settlement Reached in Overtime Violation Case
Bloomberg LP and a settlement class of help desk representatives reached a $54.5 million settlement in a federal court in New York earlier this summer. The representatives alleged the company wrongfully exempted them from overtime pay. The case in question was brought by a former employee of Bloomberg’s analytics department on behalf of all the […]
Is it Possible to Receive an SEC Whistleblower Award When Reporting Financial Fraud?
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program allows eligible whistleblowers to obtain monetary awards when providing the agency with original information about securities violations, which may include financial fraud. If the SEC uses the information you provide to bring a successful enforcement action against the offender, you could receive anywhere from 10 to 30 […]
Court Approves Wells Fargo’s $142 Million Settlement in Class Action Lawsuit Over Fake Accounts
A federal court recently approved a $142 million class-action lawsuit settlement for Wells Fargo after the bank was accused of opening fake accounts in customers’ names. The settlement received preliminary approval nearly a year ago, and it was finally officially approved by the judge overseeing the suit. The settlement class is all of the people […]
Former Employee of Ice Cube’s Basketball League Describes ‘Toxic’ Work Environment
Ice Cube’s BIG3 three-on-three basketball league has provided a fun environment on the court for players to showcase their skills. However, the league has also had its fair share of scandal. A former employee has filed a lawsuit against the league, claiming that co-founder Jeffrey Kwatinetz created a hostile work environment. The employee, Kainoa Henry, […]
Supreme Court Rejects a Longstanding FLSA Exemption ‘Narrow Construction’ Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court has maintained a standard of construing exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) narrowly for more than 70 years. However, on April 2, 2018, it issued a ruling in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro that broke this tradition. The court ruled 5-4 that the employees involved in the case were […]
Court Rules Internal Investigation Reports Prepared by an Outside Counsel are Subject to Work Product Protections
In the recent case of Lassiter v. Hidalgo Medical Services, a former employee of the medical service provider aimed to compel the company to produce reports from an outside counsel, in addition to findings of an internal investigation into workplace harassment claims. The court denied this discovery demand, finding that the documents were protected by […]
Jury Hits Town With $1.5 Million Fine After Wrongfully Terminating Detective
A jury in Morristown, New Jersey, recently ruled unanimously that the town’s police chief, Pete Demnitz, removed officer Keith Hudson from his position after he blew the whistle to authorities about the extra-duty jobs the chief was performing during his hours. The court directed the town to pay Hudson $1.5 million in punitive damages, plus […]
Inchcape Whistleblowers Awarded $4.4 Million in False Claims Act Case
Inchcape Shipping Services Holdings Limited and several of its subsidiaries recently agreed to pay $20 million to settle False Claims Act violation allegations. The company and its subsidiaries were accused of purposefully overbilling the U.S. Navy in contracts for ship husbanding services. Three former employees of Inchcape brought the suit under the False Claims Act’s […]
